Updated Forum

Balu

Lurker
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
Hey everyone,

now that the forum got updated to a new platform, we'd really like to know if you experience any problems, the things you like and the things you don't.

The update was necessary to replace the old and outdated framework the forum was based on. This shiny new system will help with a lot of problems the admins had to struggle with daily, but it also has lots of new features for you guys - most importantly a new user interface that works great on mobiles.

So please let us know if you find anything that doesn't work or bothers you. And if you want to reward the months of preparations this change required, also let us know the things you like ;-).

Regards,
Balu

Open issues

Fixed issues
  • Mentors needed "Moderator Approval"
    This was a problem with the user permissions for the Mentor role.
  • Colored badges for moderators and mentors
    They are back :).
  • Images are smaller
    This is an effect of the migration. The forum now can use thumbnails or full sized images in a post (which you can just drag and drop by the way). For the migration it switched to thumbnails that you can click to get to a bigger version.
  • Go to top
    The "go to top" button from the end of the page is now "magic". It will appear in the bottom right corner as soon as you scroll up a little.
  • https
    The forum has been switched to the encrypted HTTPS protocol.
  • Old filename
    There is now a redirect from forum.php to index.php for everyone who has the old URL saved deep in their browser.
  • followed / subscribed threads
    These are called "watched" threads and forums(!) now and can be found in the "FORUMS" menu on top. After these were missing for a while, these have been transferred now.
New / changed features
  • Like Buttons!
  • "jump to first unread"
    This is now handled by the thread title. It is linked to the first unread post or to the overall first post in the thread (if the thread has no unread posts). If you want to jump to the latest reply in a thread, you can use the date of the last reply on the right. There's also links to the last three pages for threads with more than one page.
  • Hit the "reply" button on multiple posts to add the quoted text of each to the quick reply box. No more cut and paste or other workarounds if you want to quote multiple people.
  • Friends are now "followed"
    Friends from the old forum are now being "followed". You can find out what they are up to by using the menu "What's New" -> "Your News Feed".
  • Color scheme / Layout
    There's a new "customize" button right of the "Alerts" menu in the top right where you can chose a color theme you like, a different header image and some other settings for the layout of the forum. You can also find the "customize" button in the footer - plus an additional layout style selector. "crisp dim" might be a little less stressfull on the eyes.
 
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ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
A couple things I've noticed... I tried replying to my own thread and the post still requires moderator approval. Also, in the thread listings the button to go to the first unread post is gone. As well I don't see the photo albums I had on the old site. Other than those, I really like the new layout. A massive undertaking moving everything over, great job :)
 

Morgan

Active member
Certainly different and will take a little getting use to but in the end I think I'll like it.
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
Well so far the options for posting are nice. The ability to choose between a picture or a file is nice. Also the mobile side is so much nicer!!!!!
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Was a shock at first when I checked in this evening. It is growing on me the more I jump around in it. The like button will be nice for feed back and a real smiley section is also cool too. So far seems the effort was well worth it guys thank you and well done! (not seeing the applaud emote so Ill give this one) (y)

Edit.. Just hovered over peoples avatars. Seeing updated info is nice in that pop up. I noticed there are not trophies and a point system. I haz none... :cry: Is it just those don't show up for yourself and you can only see others?
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
So this is interesting. I posted something about the weather on another page and when I went back to the forum home page, I got the 'do you want to translate this page?' message.

Of course I do!

Now my warning about the forum being updated reads:
"Welcome to the new Flite Test Forum home! Hãy chú ý đang được sau khi đang chuyển đổi sau đó một số nội dung, người dùng quyền có thể hoặc có thể bị thiếu, còn rỗng until the transition is complete. Thank you! "

Did I just get cussed out by the FT forums or did someone party a bit too hard on Friday? :)
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
I do notice that https everywhere shows this forum as Not Secure. Any hope for https compatibility?

I also note that PoperBlocker gives me no complaints about the new site, and Privacy Badger throws only two complaints.
fonts.googleapis.com gets a yellow for cookies being blocked and www.googletagmanager.com gets blocked completely.

Disable HTML5 Autoplay (makes news sites tolerable) gives me no complaints either.

I don't run Add Blocker Plus on this site.

All things considered, the new site is pretty clean, particularly compared to some of the other forums I regularly visit.

More applause to the FT Forum admins and dev teams!
 
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Balu

Lurker
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
A couple things I've noticed... I tried replying to my own thread and the post still requires moderator approval. Also, in the thread listings the button to go to the first unread post is gone. As well I don't see the photo albums I had on the old site. Other than those, I really like the new layout. A massive undertaking moving everything over, great job :)

We think some permissions were off for the mentor group. Robert set them again for each group, so they should be working now. Let us know if you still experience problems :)
 

Balu

Lurker
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
I do notice that https everywhere shows this forum as Not Secure. Any hope for https compatibility?

Yes. That's one of the first things I had asked @fliteadmin about and his reply was
Yes, absolutely - 2nd main reason for the upgrade
. The new forum has far better overall security, so that's probably the next thing to tackle after all the first transition problems are ironed out.
 

Balu

Lurker
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
Also, in the thread listings the button to go to the first unread post is gone. As well I don't see the photo albums I had on the old site.

The forum links the title of the thread to the first unread post unless it is "marked read" then it makes you go to the first post. It also lists the last few pages to click directly if I recall correctly.

I'm going to have to ask about the Albums and Subscriptions.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
The forum links the title of the thread to the first unread post unless it is "marked read" then it makes you go to the first post. It also lists the last few pages to click directly if I recall correctly.

I see that now, no button required. Thanks again.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
The forum links the title of the thread to the first unread post unless it is "marked read" then it makes you go to the first post. It also lists the last few pages to click directly if I recall correctly.

Love it! As I poke around more, I keep finding other surprise functions! Like if you hit "Reply" on more than one post it will keep adding the quotes into the quick reply window automatically - no need for multiple windows and cut/paste to reply to a bunch of folks!!
 

nevenelestate

No Agenda FPV
Any way to recover Subscribed Threads?! My "Watched" says I have none...No way I'll be able to find all the threads I was watching before :(